Maria Sharapova to face Azarenka in Indian Wells final

Maria Sharapova waltzed into the BNP Paribas Open final, where she will face Victoria Azarenka, after cruising past Ana Ivanovic in the seminal of the tournament in Indian Wells.

The world Number 2 was declared the winner after her the Serbian star retired with a hip injury mid match.

The Serb was trailing the Russian 6-4, 0-1 when she was forced to withdraw, telling the umpire she could no longer bear the pain.

«It was unfortunate that it had to end this way,» Sharapova was quoted as saying by the tournament website.

«I didn’t notice anything was wrong until she called for that medical timeout. Obviously I would have loved to have finished the match the right way, but I am happy after a long match yesterday that I got a little shorter one today.»

Looking ahead to the final, Sharapova admitted she would love a chance to avenge her defeat in the final of the Australian open.

«I’d love to get my revenge from Australia and play much better, as well,» Sharapova said. «In our previous meetings we have had really tough matches, and I hope that the quality of tennis will be good and hopefully change a few things around.»